Hawks come up big in fourth quarter to defeat Pistons

November 20, 2013|Reuters

Hawks come up big in fourth quarter to defeat Pistons

ATLANTA -- Reserve forward Mike Scott scored eight points in a fourth-quarter spurt to help the Atlanta Hawks to a 93-85 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday, spoiling the return of former Atlanta star Josh Smith.

Scott scored 11 points, but his two three-point plays in the final period sparked a 22-11 run and enabled the Hawks to break open a 66-66 tie and cruise to their seventh win.

Smith, who played nine seasons for the Hawks before signing as a free agent with the Pistons, had 11 points and six rebounds against his former team.

Smith received a mixed reception when he was introduced and was cheered whenever he took -- and missed -- a 3-point attempt. Smith was criticized while in Atlanta for choosing to take outside shots rather than attack the basket. On Wednesday, he made five of 15 from the field and failed on four 3-point tries, all to the crowd's delight.

"It was about what I expected," Smith said of the fan's reaction. "A few cheers and some boos, but it's all good. It was a little different. I'm glad to get this one under my belt so I can move on and concentrate on playing basketball."

Atlanta (7-5) was led by forward Paul Millsap, who returned to the lineup after missing Tuesday's game to score 19, and guard Jeff Teague, who scored eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Forward DeMarre Carroll had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

"It's important to find a way to win some ugly games," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Our guys found a way to do that. They found some energy when it wasn't easy for the entire group. Jeff Teague had a stretch where he really stepped up and Mike Scott off the bench ... a lot of different guys stepped up."

Detroit (4-7) got 21 points from guard Brandon Jennings and 18 from reserve guard Rodney Stuckey, who fouled out with 3:30 left. Detroit coach Maurice Cheeks received two technicals with 2:36 remaining and was ejected from the game.

"They got out and got more easy baskets than we did," Cheeks said. "They got a lot inside and then they got the pick-and-roll going. They got both things going tonight."

Neither team could get much going in the first quarter, which ended with Atlanta leading 15-13. The Hawks shot 28.6 percent in the period, while Detroit made only 26.1 percent.

"We didn't feel great about the first quarter," Budenholzer said. "It wasn't pretty for either team."

Atlanta led by as many as seven points, only to have Detroit battle back, take the lead at 18-17 and stretch it to 29-22. That's when the Hawks began to attack the basket with Millsap, who scored 11 of his 13 first-half points in the second quarter and helped Atlanta tied the game at 36-36. Atlanta scored 14 of its 28 points in the paint in the second period.

The Hawks didn't have an answer in the first half for Jennings, who had 12 in the half, or Stuckey, who had 12. The Pistons led 46-43 at halftime.

"For whatever reason, we were sluggish, they were sluggish," Hawks center Al Horford said. "I felt like we picked the energy up a little more in the second half and created enough separation to win the game."

NOTES: Atlanta F Paul Millsap was back in the lineup after missing Tuesday's game against Miami because of tendinitis in his right elbow. ... Atlanta F Kyle Korver extended his streak of consecutive games with a 3-point field goal to 85 when he knocked one down from the corner with 2:38 left in the second quarter. He is on pace to tie the record of 89 held by Dana Barros on Nov. 27 at Houston. ... Detroit G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope received a warm ovation by the Philips Arena crowd when the starting lineups were introduced. The rookie played his college ball at the University of Georgia. ... Detroit G Brandon Jennings started and played in his 500th career game. ... Through the first 10 games, the Pistons had improved in four offensive categories from the same time a year ago: points per game (from 93 to 99.5), field-goal percentage (from 43.7 to 45.3), rebounds per game (from 38.8 to 41.1) and steals per game (from 6.4 to 9.6). ... The Hawks and Pistons play again on Friday in Detroit.